Feet

Ever since I first made this blog, this post has been building up. The subject I'm going to talk about today is one that most people find strange, some don't even believe me when I tell them, but I walk around barefoot. Yes, I do this even outside, even when it rains. But don't your feet get wet? I hear you cry; yes of course, but that doesn't stop me.


Let me take you back in time four years:
Enter a seventeen year old girl, walking into the college that she attends. She steps over the threshold, stops, and looks down.
"The mat is spiky!" she exclaims. It's clear it doesn't hurt her, and the boy next to her seems slightly amused.
They continue through to the student area and she's smiling now,
"Wow," she says, "I never realised how smooth this floor was."

This is a glimpse into the first day I didn't wear any shoes. My feet were so soft then, every step was strangely painful. But after six months, my feet were tough enough to deal with that following winter. Spring is truly the right time to start.

The rainy day:
Enter the same seventeen year old girl, with the same boy. It is clear he is her boyfriend, he has his arm around her. The are stood under an umbrella. It's raining.
Two young men come up to them.
"Are you going to get your girlfriend some shoes for Christmas?" one asks, the other sniggers.
"No," replies Alex.
"Why not?" asks the other boy.
"Because she doesn't need them."
"But her feet are getting wet."
"Yes, but so are your shoes."

One of the perks of going barefoot is that the people who judge on appearance see your feet and think you're not worth anything. Those who are actually worth the effort of being friends with will see you as more than just a pair of bare feet, it's like a filter on friendships.

The big question:
Enter the same seventeen year old girl, she's walking with a nineteen year old, who is currently one of her best friends. They're talking as they walk through the centre of a town. They are debating which shop to visit next.
Enter a young boy to the side, he's perhaps eleven.
"Hey! Why ain't you wearing shoes?" he shouts at the girl.
"I am! Can't you see them?!" shouts the nineteen year old, without even pausing, "urgh, kids these days."
The girl starts laughing.

It always makes me appreciate my friends more when they are just as annoyed by the questions as I am. I don't wear shoes, get over it. I could ask all you chavs out there why you're wearing burberry caps, I mean seriously, you think it looks good? It makes you look like a dick.

Moving on, if I somehow, through this post inspire you to stop wearing shoes, be aware, it's not a walk in the park. There are repocussions to this lifestyle: when you first stop your ankles hurt because of the support they're used to, the under-developed muscles will ache if you're walking, even for ten or twenty minutes. Another thing is your body's own heating; I can't put shoes on, even if they're flip flops because my body loses heat through my soles (granted, this is how it should be, but it is bloody annoying at times) which makes wearing shoes, even in the middle of winter, like standing in the sun in summer, with boiling water being poured over you every ten seconds.

Despite these problems, I wouldn't give it up for the world, and I'll tell you why: I love the feeling of the ground beneath my feet, the textures, the temperatures, it's all addictive. People may look at me weirdly, but I'm happy and, in the end, that's all that matters to me and the people I care about.